Today I left Singapore for Hanoi (hey dummies, look at a map!) and it was pretty interesting I have to say.   Firstly, it took forever to check in as the woman in front of me coudln’t speak english very well and the booking agent had to weigh each individual piece of luggage.  Check in was suppose to be at 15:05 and when we arrived at the gate at 15:05 there was nobody there so we waited around, used the free internet at the airport and bought some kueh (cake).  At 15:30, there was a mad dash to the gate where all the Vietnamese just pushed and shoved their way to the front of the line to go through security.  I thought it was rude and then dismissed it.  Then while queuing up to get on the plane a few guys came barreling down the tarmac waiving some piece of paper.  Being the curteous and naieve foreigner, I just thought that they worked at the airport and he had some sort of passenger documents.  Nope, just another customer eager to get on the plane.  And then it happened again while queuing for Immigration in Hanoi.  Interestingly it seems to be mostly the older Vietnamese who act this way, maybe it has something to do with the Vietnam (or American as the Vietnamese call it) War and only the sly/selfish/cunning ones were able to survive.

Tonight after running a few errands (stopping at the travel cafe’s to pay for our trips) and stopping for some delicious, traditional pho, we went on to explore the night market where local vendors were selling their warez from fresh fruit to fake clothes (some by Calven Kleen himself!) while others were sorting ginger, limes and chilis that were just harvested.

Tomorrow I’m off to Ho Chi Minh’s Museum and House, Army Mueseum, Botanical Gardens, One Pillar Pagoda, Shopping and Water Puppet Theatre–so much to come still.